Valentin Haüy | |
|---|---|
 Valentin Haüy | |
| Born | 13 November 1745 Saint-Just-en-Chaussée,Oise, France |
| Died | 19 March 1822(1822-03-19) (aged 76) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Known for | founder ofInstitut National des Jeunes Aveugles, the first school for the blind |
| Relatives | René Just Haüy |
Valentin Haüy (pronounced[aɥi]; 13 November 1745 – 19 March 1822) was the founder, in 1785,[1][2] of the first school for the blind, the Institute for Blind Youth in Paris (nowInstitut National des Jeunes Aveugles, or theNational Institute for the Young Blind, INJA). In 1819,Louis Braille entered this school.
Haüy was born into a family of weavers. His father, a full-time loomer, also held the job of ringing theAngelus bells in a localPremonstrant Abbey. The abbey monks educated Valentin and he became a skilledlinguist speaking ten different languages of the day. He also studiedAncient Greek andHebrew. In 1783, he gained the title "interpreter to the king",Louis XVI. In 1786, he was the interpreter of the King, to the Admiralty and the City Hall. He was a member of the Office of Writing.[3]
Haüy's impulse to help the blind started in 1771, after he stopped for lunch in a cafe on thePlace de la Concorde, Paris. There, he witnessed an ensemble of people from theQuinze-Vingts hospice for the blind being mocked during the religious street festival, "Saint Ovid's Fair". They were givendunce caps, oversized cardboard glasses and told to play their instruments which resulted in acacophony of noises. He decided to found a school withCharles-Michel de l'Épée.[3]
In May 1784, atSaint-Germain-des-Prés, he met a young beggar, François Lesueur, who became his first student. He developed a method of raised letters, to teach Lesueur to read, and compose sentences. He made rapid progress, and Haüy announced the success, in September 1784 in theJournal de Paris, then receiving encouragement from theFrench Academy of Sciences.[3]
With the help of the Philanthropic Society Haüy founded the Institute for Blind Youth (Institution des jeunes aveugles), in February 1785.Building on the philanthropic spinning workshop for the blind, it received the support ofLouis XVI and became the Royal institution of Blind Children on 26 December 1786. Its purpose was to educate students and teach them manual work: spinning, and letterpress. During theFrench Revolution, it was taken over by the state on 28 September 1791. It became the National Institute of blind workers in aCelestine monastery.
Valentin Haüy was active in the political life of his time, and was secretary of theNational Constituent Assembly elections of 1792, then civil commissioner. He was arrested on 5Prairial III (24 May 1795), and he was released on 11 by theCommittee of Public Safety, arrested again on 20 by theNational Convention. He was released on 19 Fructidor, he joined thePanthéon Club, under theFrench Directory. Under theFrench Consulate, he was listed as a "terrorist". In 1802, he was retired from management of Blind Asylum, and granted a pension. In February, 1802, he started a private school in the rue Sainte-Avoye.In September 1806, he moved toSt. Petersburg, to found a school at the request ofAlexander I of Russia.[3]
He returned to Paris, in 1817, to live with his brother,René Just Haüy, who is considered a founder of modernmineralogy.[3]
He is buried, with his brother René, inPère Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
In 1889,Maurice de La Sizeranne created an association dedicated to helping the blind and visually impaired, named for him.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Valentin Haüy".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Louis Braille: A Touch of Genius.
